The Best Books About Disability

I was asked to come up with my “Top Five Books About Special Needs” for the July/August issue of Christianity Today. In all honesty, they aren’t necessarily my top five. I get paralyzed, first of all, at the prospect of naming a favorite anything, especially when it comes to books, because I am so effusive in my love for many authors and their books. But I also wanted my list to incorporate a diverse array of reading possibilities, so I included straight-up theology, a novel, a memoir, and a couple that are somewhat in between. I could have mentioned Henri Nouwen’s Road to Daybreak or Adam, or Christopher DeVinck’s Power of the Powerless or Thomas Reynold’s Vulnerable Communion, all beautiful books that have contributed to my own understanding of both theology and disability. So–check out my picks, but please also add your own thoughts on the essential reads for people (and Christians in particular) wanting to learn about special needs.